ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL BLOGStag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-961522014-11-21T17:57:41-08:00Current trends and developments in environmental law.TypePadAT&T PAYS $51 MILLION IN SETTLEMENT WITH CALIFORNIAtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e201b8d09632fd970c2014-11-21T17:57:41-08:002014-11-21T17:57:41-08:00The California Attorney General's office filed suit accusing AT&T of disposing of hazardous electronic waste over a 9-year period of time. The $51 million settlement was announced on the same day that the Attorney General filed suit. The filing of...STEPHEN HOLZER

The California Attorney General's office filed suit accusing AT&T of disposing of hazardous electronic waste over a 9-year period of time. The $51 million settlement was announced on the same day that the Attorney General filed suit. The filing of the suit enables the parties to have the settlement approved by the Court and, on the one hand, gives the state an enforcement mechanism (compliance with a Court Order) while, on the other hand, probably protecting AT&T from private suits over the same violation (however, if someone were injured by the waste, the deal with the state probably would not protect against that type of suit. To date, though, no one appears to have come forward claiming any injury).

CHEMICAL LEAK NEAR HOUSTON KILLS 4tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e201bb07ac88f3970d2014-11-15T17:26:02-08:002014-11-15T17:26:02-08:00Sometimes chemicals designed for safety can themselves become deadly. For example, NBC reports that Saturday morning a chemical used to odorize natural gas, and thus warn people of the presence of the potentially explosive gas, itself leaked at a Dow...STEPHEN HOLZER

Sometimes chemicals designed for safety can themselves become deadly. For example, NBC reports that Saturday morning a chemical used to odorize natural gas, and thus warn people of the presence of the potentially explosive gas, itself leaked at a Dow Chemical plant near Houston, Texas (the plant is about 25 miles away).

The chemical, methyl mercaptan, overpowered 4 workers and killed them. A fifth worker was also overpowered but has survived. The chemical also spread throughout the neighborhood but dissipated before injuring anyone else.

tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e201a3fcf9ef3c970b2014-04-25T18:03:50-07:002014-04-25T18:03:50-07:00Yet more controversy over solar power The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a report concerning the effect on birds of three solar facilities in Southern California. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/Avian-mortality%20Report%20FINALclean.pdf. Over the course of a two-year investigation, the Service found that...STEPHEN HOLZER

1. Exposures to temperatures of over 800 degrees Fahrenheit to birds flying overhead of the facilities (in one case, investigators observed a “falcon-type bird with a plume of smoke arising from the tail…”).

2. For many birds not killed by the heat, the effect of the heat on their wings causes the wings to become inoperable; when that happens and the birds crash to the ground, many are killed or injured and thus made vulnerable to predators.

3. For those birds not killed or badly injured, many nonetheless have their wings singed and cannot get away from predators.

The investigators also observed hundreds of butterfly carcasses from this species attracted to the solar structure’s reflections and crashing into them.

The report makes a series of recommendations to attempt to remedy the bird mortality problem. However, many of these recommendations appear expensive to institute (installation of video cameras to record birds entering and leaving the area; using dogs to detect hidden injured birds) or inconsistent with operating efficiency (suspend operation during peak migration times), raising the issue of whether solar power form these facilities would really be providing low-cost energy were these recommendations instituted.

The report thus raises a broader issue: is the generation of solar power, at least at these mega-facilities, really less costly and environmentally safer than traditional coal- and oil-generated power?

Europe threatened by power outages this winter | EurActivtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e2019b0004cd6d970c2013-10-14T06:59:53-07:002013-10-14T06:59:53-07:00The French multinational company Cap Gemini warned in their European Observatory of Energy Markets that energy security in Europe was under threat and that the region could soon be exposed to massive power outages during the winter, due to a...STEPHEN HOLZER

The French multinational company Cap Gemini warned
in their European
Observatory of Energy Markets that energy security in Europe was under
threat and that the region could soon be exposed to massive power outages during
the winter, due to a lack of production capacity. They blame wind
turbines.

The report authors said that the development of renewable energies pushed by
the EU's climate and energy goals was “now putting the competitiveness of gas
plants under pressure.”

Der Spiegel: Climate Scientists Face Crisis Over Global Warming Pause - SPIEGEL ONLINEtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e2019aff9400d8970b2013-09-24T06:47:51-07:002013-09-24T06:47:51-07:00A survey conducted on behalf of SPIEGEL found a dramatic shift in public opinion -- Germans are losing their fear of climate change. While in 2006 a sizeable majority of 62 percent expressed a fear of global warning, that number...STEPHEN HOLZER

A survey conducted on behalf of SPIEGEL found a dramatic shift in public opinion -- Germans are losing their fear of climate change. While in 2006 a sizeable majority of 62 percent expressed a fear of global warning, that number has now become a minority of just 39 percent.

One cause of this shift, presumably, is the fact that global warming seems to be taking a break. The average global temperature hasn't risen in 15 years, a deviation from climatologists' computer-simulated predictions.

From BBC--Australia govt defunds Climate Commission, which goes privatetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e2019aff94adf8970d2013-09-24T06:37:24-07:002013-09-24T06:37:24-07:00Prime Minister Tony Abbott axed the Climate Commission, set up by the previous government, last week. But the group resurrected itself as the Climate Council, saying it hoped "Obama-style" public donations raised online would keep it open via www.bbc.co.ukSTEPHEN HOLZER

Prime Minister Tony Abbott axed the Climate Commission, set up by the
previous government, last week.

But the group resurrected itself as the Climate Council, saying it hoped
"Obama-style" public donations raised online would keep it open

California Legislature passes Prop 65 amendmenttag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e2019aff81a9e8970b2013-09-20T09:07:23-07:002013-09-20T09:08:53-07:00Proposition 65 was passed by the voters in 1986. The Proposition requires, among other things, any business employing 10 or more people to give a warning whenever those employees, the consumer or the general public may be exposed to a...STEPHEN HOLZER

Proposition 65 was passed by the voters in 1986. The Proposition requires, among other things, any business employing 10 or more people to give a warning whenever those employees, the consumer or the general public may be exposed to a chemical that causes cancer or reproductive toxicity. Failure to provide the warning subjects the business to fines.

Since, under certain circumstances,a private individual can bring suit for alleged violation of the Proposition and keep a portion of the fines, the business community has long complained that the law is subject to abuse by “bounty hunters”. Given the expense of defending against claims and the potential for large fines (as much as $2,500 per day), many businesses quickly settle with these bounty hunters, despite the businesses’ position that the claims are often unjustified.

In a rare show of bipartisan consensus, the Legislature has as of this past Monday unanimously passed Assembly Bill 227 (Assemb. Memb. Mike Gatto, D-43rd District; Burbank-Glendale). AB 227 would give certain business activities some relief from these bounty-hunter liabilities (the legislation passed on May 24, 2013 with a vote of 72-0 in the Assembly and passed on September 10, 2013 in the Senate with a vote of 37-0).

The businesses getting a modicum of relief include, under prescribed circumstances, restaurants and bars where patrons may be exposed to food or alcoholic beverages which include chemicals that can cause cancer or reproductive toxicity; property owners where occupants may be exposed to tobacco smoke; and owners and operators of parking structures where exhaust fumes can subject people to cancer-causing constituents, provided the parking is intended for noncommercial vehicles. Upon being notified of a failure to have a required warning re the just-mentioned exposure pathways, these businesses would have 14 days in which to correct the violation and pay a $500 fine as opposed to the otherwise daily fines (which, as noted above, could be as muchas $2,500 per day).

AB 227 contains an urgency clause which makes the legislation effective as soon as the Governor signs the bill(as presumably he will).

This article first appeared as part of my weekly column for the Valley News Group (San Fernando Valley, California) group of newspapers.

2013 : Least Extreme Summer On Record In The US | Real Sciencetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e201901f06794f970b2013-08-26T14:24:51-07:002013-08-26T14:24:51-07:00The summer of 2013 is over in a few days, and has had the fewest 40ºC temperature readings of any year in the last nine decades. There were only 832 40ºC temperatures recorded in 2013, compared to 8,357 in 1936....STEPHEN HOLZER

The summer of 2013 is over in a few days, and has had the fewest 40ºC temperature readings of any year in the last nine decades. There were only 832 40ºC temperatures recorded in 2013, compared to 8,357 in 1936.

What Global Warming? 2012 Data Confirms Earth In Cooling Trend | CNS Newstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e2019104bfc4fc970c2013-08-14T07:12:53-07:002013-08-14T07:12:53-07:00(CNSNews.com) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released its “State of the Climate in 2012” report, which states that “worldwide, 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record.” But the report “fails to mention [2012] was one...STEPHEN HOLZER

(CNSNews.com) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released its “State of the Climate in 2012” report, which states that “worldwide, 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record.”

But the report “fails to mention [2012] was one of the coolest of the decade, and thus confirms the cooling trend,” according to an analysis by climate blogger Pierre Gosselin.

Ice ages: Why North America is key to their coming and going Christian Science Monitortag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345aa38c69e201901ebcee28970b2013-08-11T08:04:00-07:002013-08-11T08:03:38-07:00While carbon dioxide decreased as the ice sheet expanded and cooled the climate and increased again as the climate warmed, CO2 levels did not determine the overall sequence of events during each 100,000-year cycle, the researchers concluded. *** While carbon...STEPHEN HOLZER

While carbon dioxide decreased as the ice sheet expanded and cooled the climate and increased again as the climate warmed, CO2 levels did not determine the overall sequence of events during each 100,000-year cycle, the researchers concluded.

***

While carbon dioxide decreased as the ice sheet expanded and cooled the climate and increased again as the climate warmed, CO2 levels did not determine the overall sequence of events during each 100,000-year cycle, the researchers concluded.